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Harold Perrineau
| birthplace=Brooklyn, New York, USA | character=Michael Dawson | website= | imdb_id=0674782 }} Harold Perrineau Jr. portrayed Michael Dawson. Background Born Harold Williams Jr., Perrineau grew up in Brooklyn and went on to study music and theater at the Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia. He played a wheelchair-bound criminal on the critically acclaimed hit show ''Oz'', on which he co-starred with fellow Lost cast member Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. He notably played the role of Mercutio, Romeo's cross-dressing, gender fluid best friend in Baz Luhrman's modern-day adaption of William Shakespeare's ''Romeo + Juliet''. However, his most well-known movie role to date is that of Link, the Zion hovercraft pilot in ''The Matrix'' movies. He was recently involved in the sequel to the British zombie movie 28 Days Later. His wife Brittany is a model/actress who played a minor character in Lost as Mary Jo, the lotto girl/Sawyer love interest. The couple has two daughters, Aurora Robinson Perrineau and Wynter Aria Perrineau, the latter born May 7, 2008, a week after Perrineau wrapped his Lost role in . http://www.tvguide.com/news/lost-harold-perrineau/080530-03 ''Lost'' criticism After Michael's death in the Season 4 finale, Perrineau expressed criticisms with the producers' handling of his role. In an [http://www.tvguide.com/news/lost-harold-perrineau/080530-03 interview with TV Guide], Perrineau made several statements expressing displeasure with the writers' decision to discontinue Michael's story. He stated that he was mainly disappointed because he "wanted Michael and Walt to have a happy ending." He added that he felt like his character's death "was sort of pandering to some fans who wanted to see Michael punished because he betrayed people", and that he would have written the story differently. Perrineau also stated that he felt the idea of Walt becoming a fatherless child was perpetuating a stereotype: Following the interview, Carlton Cuse stated that the producers pride themselves on having a racially diverse cast. Without responding directly to Perrineau's statement, Cuse stated that "Harold is a fantastic actor whose presence added enormously to Lost." In [http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/06/lost-harold-per.html a follow-up interview with Entertainment Weekly], Perrineau clarified that he was "disappointed", but not "bitter", with the way his character had been handled. He also expressed his satisfaction with the diversity of the cast, saying "I was really, really proud to be part of this group of people that looked like this on network television. We just weren’t used to seeing that kind of diversity on television". Additionally, he expressed his approval of the SAG award received by the cast in 2006. Overall, Perrineau stated that his experience on Lost was positive, particularly in the first season. In both interviews, he indicated he would be willing to return to the show under the right circumstances: Season 6 Return (2010) On January 12, 2010, show-runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse revealed that Perrieanu would be returning along with Cynthia Watros (Libby).http://www.tvguide.com/News/Lost-Harold-Perrineau-1013608.aspx In a follow-up interview (January 25), Perrineau stated "I was always open to returning because there was stuff I thought was unresolved. I’m hoping we can put Michael to rest in a way we haven’t done so far.” He particularly mentioned making closure with his on-screen son, Walt Lloyd, and Libby.http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/kecks-exclusives/why-harolds-back-on-lost-3854.html On Saturday, January 30, Perrineau attended Season 6's Sunset on the Beach premiere along with the producers and numerous other cast members, suggesting they were all on good terms. In a February 2 interview, Lindelof and Cuse both confirmed that all bad ill between Perrineau and them was healed.http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/02/lost.producers.take.questions.ppl/index.html Trivia * Perrineau is his mother's maiden name, and his father is Harold Williams Sr.--his parents never married, so he used both names growing up, eventually settling on Perrineau (an interesting parallel to his character Michael on Lost). * He took "a bunch of swimming lessons" for his scenes at the boat for the Season 1 finale because he "was not a strong swimmer".http://www.tvguide.com/news/harold-perrineau-lost/050921-09 * Harold played a yoga teacher on the season finale of Dead Like Me where he saluted a starring character with a namaste. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcheta9lv84 * Harold supported Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign and appeared briefly in Will.I.Am's "Yes We Can" video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuMdkff0_o * Harold also starred in the ABC drama ''The Unusuals'', in which he played a police officer whose father and grandfather both died at the age of 42. Media appearances Filmography Image:HaroldPerrineau28WeeksLater.jpg|Harold Perrineau in 28 Weeks Later Image:HaroldPerrineauMatrixReloaded.jpg|Harold Perrineau in The Matrix Reloaded Image:HaroldPerrineauRomeoJuliet.jpg|Harold Perrineau alongside Leonardo di Caprio in Romeo + Juliet Talk show Perrineau has appeared as a talk show guest in the following: *May 6, 2005 - 20/20 "Lost Special" (S26 E1396) Magazine Perrineau has been featured as the main topic of the following magazine articles: Music single On December 18, 2007, Perrineau released a song on iTunes called "Stay Strong". It is a song for the troops overseas, and a portion of the proceeds is donated to support those who return with injuries. Download "Stay Strong" on iTunes. It was directed by his Lost co-star Daniel Dae Kim and featured a cameo appearance by another Lost star in Josh Holloway. Miscellaneous *August 8, 2004: Sunset on the Beach (Season 1 premiere), Honolulu, HI *September 14, 2005: Sunset on the Beach (Season 2 premiere), Honolulu, HI *July 26, 2007 Comic Con 2007 - Lost Panel, San Diego, CA *May 13, 2010 - Lost Live Awards References Miscellaneous de:Harold Perrineau Jr. es:Harold Perrineau Jr. fr:Harold Perrineau Jr it:Harold Perrineau nl:Harold Perrineau Jr. pl:Harold Perrineau Jr. pt:Harold Perrineau Perrineau, Harold Category:Season 4 Cast Category:Season 2 Cast Category:Season 1 Cast